Montgomery Township board, police department honor retiring K-9

MONTGOMERY TWP. — Montgomery Township’s board of supervisors have said their farewells to a four-legged friend who has worn the uniform of the Montgomery Township Police Department for the last time.

Aston, a German Shepherd who has been a member of the MTPD’s K-9 department for nearly nine years, was honored in a ceremony Monday night to mark his retirement on Oct. 17. Aston joined his human partner, Sgt. Glenn Davis, for a round of head pats and handshakes, respectively, as well as honors from the board.

“As you can see, he’s adjusting quite well to life with Sgt. Davis, in his retirement, and (Davis’ sons) Cooper and Jacob are now the official handlers of Aston,” police Chief Scott Bendig said.

According to Bendig, Aston joined the department in 2004 and has served as a dual purpose canine, specializing in both patrol work and drug detection. During Aston’s career with Davis, the two have responded to more than 400 police calls, arrested several offenders and helped in the seizure of what Bendig called “significant quantities” of drugs.

Supervisors chair Candyce Fluehr Chimera gave the dog a box of bone-shaped dog treats as a parting gift from the township, and Cooper fed Aston one immediately as Chimera presented Rose a plaque commemorating the dog’s service time with the township.

“It’s great to see that he gets along with the little guys so well,” Bendig said.

Beyond patrol and outreach duty in and around the township, the pair competed in annual U.S. Police Canine Association field trials, and Aston made more than 60 public appearances and demonstrations during his time in the department, according to Bendig.

In March 2012 the department promoted Hart and Davis to the rank of sergeant and announced at that time that Davis would not continue with another police dog - he was originally hired as a police dispatcher in 1993, earned a promotion to patrol officer in 1997 and has worked his way up through the ranks, with a stint in the department’s Highway Safety Unit from 2001-06 before promotions to corporal in 2008 and to sergeant earlier this year.

Davis asked that Aston retire this year due to questions about the dog’s health as well as increased responsibilities for his human counterpart as head of the department’s patrol division, Bendig said, but the other three canine officers are in good health and enjoying the extra space in the department’s dog kennel.